THE LITTLE CLOUD
THE LITTLE CLOUD
by Randall Nicholas
The little cloud that goes by all alone,
no other whiteness in the sky so far,
how delicate and vulnerable, ready
to shred and altogether disappear
just by a breeze restoring all to blue,
yet followed by another, yet another,
and more together following, so by
tomorrow storm and flood may come of one
so startling in its insignificance.
It’s good to see some metered poetry in everyday language! I enjoy how words and thoughts come together differently when iambic pentameter is used. I very much adore Berryman’s use of it in ‘The Dreamsongs’ where he also employs slang and vernacular.
But a poem need not be crude to exhibit beauty. The subject matter and language here reminded me of naturalist haiku. I like how the poet compared and contrasted the progression of single clouds which are singular, seemingly weak, and at first glance a non-entity to the oncoming ‘storm and flood’ which would normally be more noticeable but in the poet’s sense of appreciation becomes the least significant of the two. Well done!
Thanks.